This blog is for government communicators and others who are passionate about improving the way government serves citizens. I managed a U.S. government website for 10 years. Now happily retired, I'm sharing some of my experiences and ideas. Agree or not, I hope my posts make you think about ways to make government customer service better.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

I haven’t talked about leadership for awhile. So let me beat that drum a bit.

Web managers/editors/innovators (I’m still searching for the right moniker) have always been – and must always be – leaders to be successful. We have no delegated authority over all the people we need to get the job done. So we have to rely on our leadership skills to get everyone on the same page. And maybe the most important aspect of being a successful leader is being a successful communicator. You have to be able to motivate, inspire cooperation, persuade, convince, and – sometimes – badger people into seeing what you see and marching to your tune. You have to be a great communicator. How do you do that? Here’s what worked for me.

Start with your bosses.

Who are your “bosses?” I know – you think, “duh!” But guess what…when you’re an agency web manager – and relying on/accountable to an entire agency – you have a ton of bosses. Who are they?

Your direct supervisor. Of course.

Managers and executives above your supervisor.

The top management official at the agency.

Maybe some top aides or special assistants. Hmm. Had you considered that? Sometimes, special assistants or top aides represent your boss's interests. Or sometimes they are in a great position to influence what your boss does. Never, ever underestimate the power of a special assistant or top aide.

Here’s the thing. Know who your bosses are! It’s better to treat someone like a boss who isn’t than to assume someone isn’t a boss who is.

So…what do bosses want? Well, they want to look good, personally. They want their organization to look good. They want to solve problems. They want to be the first to know something. They want to be the first one to do something. They want public recognition. So, the key to communicating with bosses? Give them something they want...because when you do, they will want you.

Now…some other tips for communicating with bosses.

Check your image! Your image – how you are perceived – is critical to your success. Do you look like someone your agency head would want to put on his/her team? Do you need to brush up on your presentation skills? Can you articulate – in words that are meaningful to your boss – what you do? Do your bosses see you the way you see yourself? Perception is everything. So manage your boss’s perception of you.

Introduce yourself! See a boss in the cafeteria? Go meet him/her! Offer some great tidbit about one of your top tasks. “Thought you’d like to know that we reduced the time it takes to submit a change of address online by 10% this year!” Help them remember you as a can-do contributor. Be the first one in the door – new bosses look for allies.

Make appointments with your bosses. Make it about them – not you. Show you understand what they want to accomplish. Tell them how they can save resources or work better, smarter, faster. Suggest ways to improve customer service, achieve management goals, engage the public, make the agency more transparent. Ask how you can help them. If they don’t know, offer some suggestions. But remember – make it about meeting their needs.

Share information. Describe your customers. Tell your boss what most people looking for (top tasks). Tell your boss how much money or time are you saving on a particular process. Tell your boss about that idea you are working on that could make your agency look good. Inspire your bosses with possibilities.

Listen to what your bosses say! Remember – you’re trying to sell them on you. And a key to selling is listening to what they want/need.

Get yourself on the agenda of management meetings. Don’t wait to be invited – propose a briefing. Tell how you’re supporting their objectives and the administration’s goals. Show how you’re improving customer service. Facts and figures can dazzle! Offer additional briefings or brainstorm sessions. Show websites of similar organizations and challenge them to help you do the same. Suggest ways to use social media to further goals.

Keep your bosses current. Write email/memos to follow up on meetings and briefings. Let them know that you kept your promises. Share “good news!” Bosses LOVE to hear good news. Do it routinely.

Need their help? Tell them exactly what you need. Here’s the problem. Here are the possible solutions. Here’s the memo (or the phone call you need to make or the email you need to send) to deal with the problem. This is so important. Don’t leave it up to your bosses to figure it out. Do the staff work. Write the memo. Craft the strategy. Make it easy for them to do what you need them to do. Don’t delegate up.

Volunteer. If you hear about a new initiative, let your boss know you’d like to help - there’s always a web angle. It’s so much better to be in on the planning than to be told what to do, after the fact.

Make it fun! Boss has a negative attitude? Turn it into a positive. Talk about possibilities…not limits. Be grateful…not dissatisfied. Never, ever whine. Bosses hate whiners. Make it fun for your bosses to deal with you.

One more thing on bosses. In my experience, bosses want to - and will - make the right decisions if you have communicated with them effectively. So if you feel your boss isn't supportive, maybe you need to take another look at your communications strategy.

OK…more tips on communicating.

Be timely.

If you don’t communicate in a timely manner, then your organization can’t be effective and your credibility will suffer. Don’t put off to tomorrow what you need to do today! Start with your web team/web colleagues. Have you updated them on what you’re doing? Shared information that could impact them? Never, ever assume they know by osmosis.

Tell your agency what’s going on.

Use your intranet or your agency newsletter to inform and excite. Don't have one of those vehicles? Start one. Show mission achievement, service to citizens, accomplishment of the President’s goals. Document cost benefit/savings, improved timeliness, improved efficiency. Tell about upcoming initiatives and opportunities.

Reinforce positive behavior.

Call that staff member who reacted favorably to your suggestion at the management meeting. Tell your teammates when they do a good job. Let your bosses know when your team does well. Lead with praise. Share the credit.

Successful communication doesn’t just happen. You have to plan it. You have to do it effectively.

With bosses…so you can help them and they can help you.

With everyone in your web organization…so they know where you’re leading them, so they know the rules, and so they can carry out their roles.

With everyone in your agency…so they know where you’re going, what you’ve achieved. So they know what you’ve learned.

Across agencies…to share, to help, to learn, to collaborate.

Great web leaders communicate strategically and routinely. That’s how you spell “success.”